


Let Me Get This Straight (Nobody Is)

by SquirrelNo2



Series: Instrument of Chaos [2]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Multi, Pre-Relationship, sort of a pre-coming out really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:54:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26862445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquirrelNo2/pseuds/SquirrelNo2
Summary: Back home after a whirlwind time travel adventure, Julie, Reggie, Willie, and Flynn are trying to explain what happened to Luke and Alex. Julie's guilt threatens to overwhelm her, and Reggie nearly reveals something very close to his heart.
Relationships: Julie Molina/Luke Patterson/Reggie Peters
Series: Instrument of Chaos [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953958
Comments: 68
Kudos: 301





	Let Me Get This Straight (Nobody Is)

**Author's Note:**

> I did not ship this prior to writing Phantom (Singular). I don't know what happened, except I do, because Reggie and Julie were pining incessantly and supporting each other wonderfully and let's be real I always ship in groups of three or more. Anyway.  
> This follows on from the previous fic, so what they're talking about at the start (and also Flynn seeing Willie and Reggie) will make no sense if you haven't read it. Also, this one goes out to all the people who were wondering what I thought adult Luke and Alex looked like. I still have no idea, but it is not any of Andy Serkis's roles!

“Let me get this straight,” Alex said for the third time. Julie could _see_ Willie struggling to hold in the pun.

“The reason we were alive for a week – which, I kind of wish I remembered that? – was because of time travel?”

“Yes,” Julie said.

“And that’s why Flynn can see Willie and Reggie.”

“Are you jealous, hot dog?” Willie asked. Julie pretended not to notice them leaning ever so slightly closer to each other.

“A little!” Alex said.

“What’s Alex saying?” Flynn asked. They’d just barely managed to squeeze Luke, Julie, Flynn, and Reggie onto the couch all together, with Alex in the armchair and Willie perched beside him. Flynn leaned around Julie to direct her question to Willie as well.

“I think that he wants a hug from you,” Julie said.

“That’s – no – well, maybe,” Alex said. “That’s not my point!”

They had spent nearly the entire day in the studio. Whatever Caleb was planning, he hadn’t called Willie back yet, and Flynn had been given free rein over the Molina household years ago, so it had been easy for them to spend the day talking.

It had also been necessary, because neither Luke nor Alex quite knew how to process everything their friends were telling them. That was fair, Julie thought. She wasn’t sure how to process some of it, either.

“But you fixed things?” Luke said. He looked around as the room’s mood dropped.

“I mean, you’re dead, it’s not really a fix,” Reggie said quietly. “Anyway, we didn’t do it.”

“Caleb made sure there were enough street dogs to go around,” Willie said quietly. Alex gently took his hand.

“Wait, that was Caleb?”

“What do you mean, that was Caleb?” Julie asked.

“Reggie said somebody bought the hot dogs for us,” Luke said. “You don’t – I guess that never happened originally.”

“The way I remember it we all went out together,” Reggie put in. “So that means I brought them to you?”

“Hey, bro,” Luke said. He reached out for Reggie, realised they were on opposite ends of the couch, and then an awkward shuffle ensued which left Flynn closest to Alex and Willie, Julie next to Reggie, and Luke on the far end. Flynn managed to stub her toe, though her foot had been nowhere near the furniture at the time so nobody was really sure how.

“Bro, it’s not your fault,” Luke said as soon as they were settled again. “Ok, Caleb played you, and it’s not like you knew what would happen. We didn’t even know it was Caleb until right now!”

He said it like he’d been saying it for weeks.

He probably had, if he remembered a Reggie who’d died with that guilt. Julie looked down, trying not to think about all the changes they still had to figure out.

“Wait. Hold on,” Alex said. “We thought Luke met Julie’s mom at the show.”

“You thought _what_?” Julie asked.

“Yeah, you said – I thought it was you but you didn’t recognise me, and then you said it was 2020 so we figured it was your mom there,” Luke said. “But she looked _exactly_ like you.”

“Ok, first of all, whose mom looks exactly like them? Luke, you’ve seen pictures of my mom,” Julie said. Flynn lifted her hands as if to say ‘what’s going on’ and Reggie poofed over to whisper in her ear.

“One picture. And who thinks of time travel when moms are a way simpler explanation?”

Alex was grinning.

“You flirted with Julie,” he said.

“Alex!” Luke whined.

“She was totally flirting back,” Reggie added with delight.

“Reggie!” Julie and Flynn exclaimed. Julie frowned at Flynn, who rolled her eyes.

“Dead boy,” she whispered in Julie’s ear.

“You’re the one who keeps calling ghosts cute,” Julie shot back.

“It was kind of a weird moment,” Willie said fairly. Flynn gestured to him with a ‘told-you-so’ kind of look on her face. Julie rolled her eyes.

“I’ll say, Alex walked right through me!” Reggie said. Alex looked horrified.

“And we’re moving on,” Julie said quickly, because if Alex was allowed to, he would spiral rapidly. “Because it’s not your fault and you didn’t know.”

“You know, thinking about it I’m actually really glad that was you and not your mom,” Luke said.

“Me too,” Julie said emphatically. There was a knock on the door, and her dad poked his head in.

“You girls going to stay out here all night?” he asked.

“Uhhh,” Julie said like the intelligent band leader she was.

“We’re talking to the guys!” Flynn said cheerfully, gesturing at the laptop which was mercifully open, though definitely not on. They’d been trying to find celebrities to compare adult Luke and Alex to, but had been forced to give up after _somebody_ (Flynn) tried to convince Luke he’d grown up to look like Andy Serkis.

(As Gollum.)

“Over Skype,” Julie added.

“Ok,” her dad said. “Well, if you want some snacks or something let me know.”

“I could do some popcorn,” Flynn said. Julie gave her a look. “What?” Flynn asked.

When Julie’s dad left, she said, “You know you’re in a room with four guys who can’t eat, right?”

“But they can still catch popcorn in their mouths, and is that not the true joy of such foods?”

Julie didn’t really have an argument for that one, especially with Reggie bouncing with delight even as he came back to sit on the couch, this time on the end with Julie between him and Luke.

Julie kind of felt like she had the starring role in a slider puzzle, actually.

“So everything is back to normal,” Luke said. “I mean, even if we remember some stuff a little differently, it’s all basically the same? Caleb, the stamps, the Orpheum…”

“Yeah,” Julie said. Something about his words hit at that secret guilty place in her heart. “Guys… you’re really ok with this? I mean, we could have saved you.”

Flynn looked down at her hands, and Willie slid an arm lightly around Alex’s shoulders like he was afraid Alex would vanish.

“Come on, Julie,” Luke said softly. “What kind of life is it without the band, huh?”

“But if we’d gone after Reggie you’d all have been ok,” Julie said. “Sunset Curve would be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by now.”

“Yeah, but Julie and the Phantoms wouldn’t make it there, then,” Luke said. “Julie, I’m not gonna lie. There’s stuff I miss. You _know_ there is. You helped me with some of that.”

The mention of his parents tipped Julie over the edge, and tears started to drip from her eyes.

“Oh, no,” Luke said, rubbing her back gently. “Oh, Julie.”

“Hey,” Reggie said, pressing closer on Julie’s other side. “It would be different if we didn’t know what came next. But when I said not to go after me, I knew, right? We’re together. You’re here.”

“Reggie,” Julie said, touched.

“And Flynn and Willie,” Reggie added rapidly. “Because they’re our friends. You are! We’ve got a lot of friends.”

“Reggie…” Julie said again, this time very confused.

“Who’s hungry? I’ll go see how Ray’s doing!”

“Reggie, you can’t eat!” Julie called as he ran out of the room. At least the utter weirdness of the past twenty seconds had caused her to stop crying.

“That was weird even for him,” Julie said. Willie looked like he was holding in laughter. Alex’s mouth was open like he was searching for words.

Flynn’s jaw had dropped completely.

“Twice? In a row?” she said finally.

“Flynn, for once I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Julie said.

“You! And dead boys!” Flynn threw up her hands.

Julie blinked, decided she was going to let Flynn explain that one when she was ready to make sense, and looked at Luke.

“Do _you_ know what that was about?” she asked.

He was staring at the door Reggie had vanished through, a thoughtful look on his face.

“Yeah,” he said. “Maybe. I’ll be right back.”

Reggie really liked hanging out with Ray. Ray was safe. Ray could never hear the ridiculous things coming out of Reggie’s mouth.

“You like Julie,” Luke said, giving Reggie a completely unnecessary after-death heart attack.

“What – I – no! What? How do I know you don’t like Julie?”

Not Reggie’s best work, if he was being honest.

“I do like Julie, and you do know, because you and Alex won’t shut up about it,” Luke said. “Dude. Come on. It’s me.”

He reached out for Reggie’s elbow, about to step closer, and Reggie panicked and pulled away.

Concern washed over Luke’s face.

“Hey,” he said. “What’s wrong?”

They both had to jump out of Ray’s way as he opened the fridge, and with a glance at each other they poofed to the front porch.

“I’m sorry,” Reggie said immediately. “I won’t mess things up with you and Julie, I never do.”

“Dude, what do you mean, you never do?”

Reggie picked nervously at his fingernails, avoiding Luke’s gaze.

“Look, don’t tell me anything you aren’t ready to,” Luke said. “But… hey, we both know Julie makes her own choices.”

“And she likes you,” Reggie said. Luke grinned like he couldn’t believe his luck.

“Yeah, probably,” he said. “But… dude, in there? You knew what to say to her. You helped her with weird adult me…”

“Yeah, that was really weird,” Reggie said. “You had stubble.”

“All I’m saying is, it’s nothing to be scared of,” Luke said. “I’m not. And neither is Julie.”

“Luke, I…” Reggie had no idea how to say what he was feeling. It wasn’t just Julie, that was part of the problem. “I _really_ like you and Julie together. It’s good. I don’t want to mess that up.”

“Nothing you do ever could,” Luke said seriously.

“Can I have a hug?” Reggie asked quietly. Luke laughed and hugged him tightly.

When they got back to the studio, Alex and Willie had joined Flynn and Julie on the couch. Luke sat in the chair and Reggie sprawled out at his feet, and Julie clambered over Alex and Willie to sit on the end closest to them.

“Are you ok?” she asked Reggie. “You ran out pretty fast.”

Luke nudged Reggie with his knee. When Reggie looked up, he grinned.

Reggie smiled back.

“I’m fine,” he said. “It’s really good to be home.”

Julie eyed him like she knew that was a cop-out – it was one of his more obvious ones, after all. But she just rolled her eyes fondly.

“Think you’ve got time for a movie, Willie?” she asked. “Because we still have _so_ much pop culture to catch the guys up on.”

"Just not Star Wars," Reggie said quickly. At everyone's look, he shrugged.

"I'm not ready to be betrayed like that," he said.

"Nobody was, Reggie," Flynn said. "Nobody was."


End file.
